Fridge Operation Question

[Troutboy]

I have a 2017 FC 23D. There is no roof vent, it vents from a side panel with louvres.

Today it was in the 70s and I decided to test out the fridge on propane.

It maintained the temp below 40 degrees F. However, the inside of the side vent was very warm., especially the fins at the top of the compartment. I never heard or saw the fan kick on in the vent space.

Also, I have a microwave above the fridge on the inside. I had it removed for other work. There was a smell inside the trailer, a small like heat or electrical, and the wood in the microwave cabinet above the fridge was very warm to the touch, and the smell was strongest in this cabinet space.

Is this normal? Is my fan not working and creating a safety issue?

Any thoughts or help appreciated.

Thanks!
Rich

[RandyNH]

The heat would be normal, the smell is probably because you haven't used it on propane before, until everything has properly "cooked" to temp. If you had the microwave out and the entire area not closed up like it would normally be, then you may have affected the natural venting of the design, to get the heat and smell inside.

The fan, if you have one, on some units they're manual, otherwise they will usually only turn on based on ambient air temp, not sure but I think I remember above 80, so it might just be relying on natural convection and venting.

[OTRA15]

Ditto to RandyNH. Your owner's manual should tell you whether you have to manually turn on the fan. We do -- right inside the main door is a rocker switch on the wall on the left. BTW the fans supplied by AS are very noisy, and there are lots of threads here on replacing them and/or modifying the "duct work" to get better air flow.

"Noisy fridge fan" -- https://www.google.com/search?q=nois...=airforums.com

The thermostat in the fridge exterior space (to kick the fan on) may also be bad. If the ambient air temp inside that space is over 80 F, and the fan does not come on, this becomes more of a possibility. Do all your other 12 volt functions work OK?

You might also have an inline glass fuse in the feed for the thermostat/fan. We found ours by removing the manual switch. You might be able to trace the wiring out there and look for a fuse holder, similar to the one near your tongue jack motor.

I would call your dealer for feedback as well.

Good luck!

Peter

PS -- On p. 5-13 [PDF p. 47/118] the manual suggests that your 23' may not have the manual switch. It also says your fridge vents through the roof, which it does not apparently [like our old 25' did].

https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...ers-Manual.pdf

When looking inside the exterior fridge space, are you sure there is no flue vent going up through the roof? There would also be a streamlined roof cap like our old AS, and the system worked very well. FWIW!

PS2 -- While camping in hot weather, we open up the top louvered door for the fridge mechanical space, which lets the hot air escape easily. Our FC20 main entry door opens over this area, so when it is locked to the outside of the trailer, it also compromises air flow. Have not had time to replace the noisy fan, but the new one is in the AS waiting for a spare moment.

[Troutboy]

Thanks guys. No manual switch. It will be warmer today so I can check to see if fan works etc.

Hadn't thought about the about the cook off time. This is the first time it has been used for a little big time on propane. I left it on overnight so will check that out.

Thanks for the links. I had heard or read about changing the fan out a long time ago, I had forgot.

I'll check it all out over the course of today and post findings back up.

Thanks.

[Troutboy]

So today, the smell was still there, but not as strong. I reinstalled the microwave.

Peter, you were right, that fan is load. It wasn't coming on, so I took a heat gun and blew hot air at the thermostat a and sure enough it kicked in.

It was so loud, that I switched it out on the spot. I had a silenex fan, and it is so much quieter. Very easy to swap out. I'll post a picture, but the newer AS come with a plastic fan mount attached to the coils. The fan literally snaps out, and the new one snaps in.

I also noticed that the heat from the propane fridge, the pipe on the right is very hot, and it warms up the inside closet as well.

I feel the fridge vent design, without the roof top vent is poor and inefficient. I plan to modify this with a few more fans to expel the hot air and fumes. I feel as designed, they get trapped and don't move out as much.

Thanks
Rich

[OTRA15]

Yes some mods are in order. Glad the new fan was ready and able! FYI there are other active fridge threads to check out including this one:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425...ly-165383.html

where Bob [CruzinDux] has some good links in a recent post.

Good luck!

Peter

[lsbrodsky]

I have probably seen this before, but without searching, why did they design some of these without the roof vent that works so well?

Larry

[Troutboy]

Larry, my unit came with the microwave in the space above the fridge. Some think in this case there was no where for a roof vent. I thought I read this somewhere else as well.

[OTRA15]

Just to save money IMO. The old flue required a dedicated chase with clearance to combustible surfaces, plus a streamlined roof cap, which in turn raised waterproofing issues, etc. etc..

Airstream could have easily kept the old design, but interior space would have suffered, and this would have cost more.

A lousy move IMO, especially if the hot mechanical space results in the Dometic fridges having shorter lifespans.

[PBixby]

Hi folks,
I've been reading forum threads on fridge problems but I can't find this particular issue, so I'm hoping someone knows what's going on. I've been trying to troubleshoot my fridge since I began a cross-country trip 20 days ago in stinkin' hot Austin, Texas. I'm now in Maine, where the daytime temp is about 70 and nighttime is 40's and 50's.

My problem is this: when it was 100 degrees and I was packing up the camper in Austin, I parked it in as much shade as I could find and left the fan on (once we jerry-rigged the wires because they didn't seem to be connecting to the heat sensor--I think that's what it is--when we squeezed the wires, the fan worked, so we wrapped them in electrical tape--this was an 11th hour fix!). So, then it seemed to work non-stop until I physically turned it off at the switch (I have the rocker switch inside next to the pantry door), and the fridge never did get that cold (I now know because it was just too dang hot outside and the camper was sitting still, though level).

However, now the fan is intermittent at best. If I turn it on, it may come on, it may not--it will run for 5-10 minutes and then shut itself off. I've left the switch turned on at times to see what happens--it just seems to get hot, and the fan doesn't seem to come back on later. I need to turn it off, then turn it back on later in order to restart it. The fridge is definitely colder when I have the fan running.

Another point that may be important: I discovered that the refrigerator cord doesn't plug in anywhere!! It's like they forgot to install an outlet inside the compartment--or maybe it's hidden somewhere inside and whoever serviced it last failed to plug it back in so it can switch to power instead of gas (this is a 2009 19-ft International that I bought used). What I've been doing, when I'm plugged into shore power (which isn't all the time--I've been in some places without hookups), I run an extension cord to the outside outlet. I can hear it switch from gas to power and back when I plug/unplug it, so I know that little trick worked. But any ideas about WHERE the cord is actually supposed to be plugged? Or if that has anything to do with my intermittent fan issue?

Do I need a new fan? Or maybe just a new heat sensor? Any thoughts are welcome!
Thank you so much, Pam